Fireborn: Dark Phoenix

Morgrovia

Morgrovia is a democratic republic in which all landowning men over the age of 25 are permitted to vote in open ballots. As a result, their government is significantly and notably fairer and more effective than most others of North Encyron.

Morgrovia began as a monarchy under the former Encyronian governor’s family, as did most of North Encyron’s now-independent nations; the monarchy was devoutly Solarian, and in 1300EI ruthlessly attempted to eliminate all other religions from within Morgrovia’s borders. This backfired; Kitantha herself intervened and had the neighbouring, devout, nation of Sildovia (now a troubled Imperial vassal-state) invade in a holy war to protect her faithful there.

The holy war was successful, thanks to widespread uprisings from Kitanthites in the area. She forbade the Sildovians from seizing the territory, however; and thus an effort was made to form a theocratic republic under the victorious Kitanthites. This also proved nigh-impossible; and for nearly a century Morgrovia was a failed state almost as badly as Arkalia is today, with coups, counter-coups, civil wars, and neighbours grabbing territory dominating the period.

Finally, however, a powerful group of liberal pro-democracy revolutionaries managed to gain control of a significant faction within the former navy (who had long since been a land-based ‘marine’ force whose vessels had rotted decades earlier, without resources to rebuild them!). In time-honoured tradition, they seized the capital from the reviled military dictator who’d lost the support of the populace, and began organising an effective system of governance rather than engaging the other time-honoured tradition of coupsters, raiding the treasury for personal gain.

Within a year they had pacified the surrounding territory to such an extent that the populace were fanatically devoted to them and hopeful of regaining their ‘rightful’ heritage and place in the region; and though the civil war lasted another decade, the democrats won a resounding success.

Morgrovia has had a tradition of careful reform, meritocratic society, and regular elections ever since; and have proven singularly successful despite their long, relatively narrow strip of remaining land at the coast. The country is also deeply religious and devoted to the goddess Kitantha, to such an extent that she now makes her official residence (and thus her High Temple) there, in the far eastern edge of the country – ever since 1813EI. This presence in Morgrovia has helped deter imperial aggression ever since – lest a territorial dispute become a messy regional holy war.

Morgrovia has embraced modernity with the enthusiasm of true reformers; despite a growing series of scandals of corruption involving friends and families of government officials winning control of key rail and construction franchises, the path has largely been smooth – although significant tensions still simmer beneath the surface of the growing urban-slum population, nothing has yet crystallised the anger of the silently dispossessed.

Morgrovian laws permit Dragonborn to be freed but gives them few legal protections and no ability to own property.